Study: Recreational cannabis sales would be boon for Colorado city

If Colorado Springs – the second-largest city in Colorado – were to allow recreational marijuana sales, its share of the state’s cannabis market would double to 14%, according to a new economic impact report by a University of Denver professor.

The study also found that allowing rec sales could create 1,320-1,762 jobs for the city as well as $25.4 million in revenue from taxes and business fees.

The study’s analysis – written by Jack Strauss, the Miller Chair of Applied Economics at the university’s Daniels College of Business – assumes that all medical cannabis companies in Colorado Springs would transition to the rec industry.

Colorado Springs is one of many municipalities and counties that banned recreational marijuana sales and businesses after Colorado voters approved legalization in 2012.

Though Colorado Springs has a vibrant medical marijuana industry with 356 licensed MMJ companies, it still does not permit rec sales. That situation could change in the near future, as the Colorado Springs council has been mulling putting the question before voters. A ballot question hasn’t been formally proposed, however.